"As Buddhists, we should aim to develop relationships that are not predominated by grasping and clinging. Our relationships should be characterised by the brahmaviharas of metta (loving kindness), mudita (sympathetic joy), karuna (compassion), and upekkha (equanimity)."~post by Ben, Jul 02, 2009

I've been wondering why there aren't your posts anymore and I was thinking you might have gone to a long retreat ... Last night around New York time 7-8pm I was thinking about you after seeing your name on the website ...

You had been one of my earliest friends in this "sanga" who have been very helpful to my Dhamma practice. I'll certainly miss you ...

By your faith in the three gems and the good Dhamma practice and good kamma you've accumulated, I believe you'll have a more conducive place for your Dhamma practice. And no matter where you are, I believe you are independent enough of the outer circumstances to develop your mind, as you wisely advised me in November later year:

"Lastly, the conducive conditions are something you create in your mind. If you are too dependent on outer circumstances, you won't find freedom. Because everywhere you go, it is still just Samsara."

"He (the Buddha) also said:"Monks, be islands unto yourselves,[1] be your own refuge, having no other; let the Dhamma be an island and a refuge to you, having no other. Those who are islands unto themselves... should investigate to the very heart of things:[2] 'What is the source of sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair? How do they arise?'" --http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .wlsh.html

Again, "be your own refuge, having no other; let the Dhamma be an island and a refuge to you, having no other." -- This is my prayer to you.

I am shocked to hear the passing of Individual. First Jcsuperstar and now Individual, I knew neither of them but I'm still shaken up. I transfer all my merit to them. May they remain in peace and serenity.

I just saw this now. It's terribly sad. A potent reminder of the instability of life, and the necessity to do good and practice Dhamma while we still have a chance.

At Savatthi. Then King Pasenadi Kosala approached the Blessed One in the middle of the day and, on arrival, having bowed down, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him: "Well now, great king, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?"

"Just now, lord, I was engaged in the sort of royal affairs typical of head-anointed noble-warrior kings intoxicated with the intoxication of sovereignty, obsessed by greed for sensual pleasures, who have attained stable control in their country, and who rule having conquered a great sphere of territory on earth."

"What do you think, great king? Suppose a man, trustworthy and reliable, were to come to you from the east and on arrival would say: 'If it please your majesty, you should know that I come from the east. There I saw a great mountain, as high as the clouds, coming this way, crushing all living beings [in its path]. Do whatever you think should be done.' Then a second man were to come to you from the west... Then a third man were to come to you from the north... Then a fourth man were to come to you from the south and on arrival would say: 'If it please your majesty, you should know that I come from the south. There I saw a great mountain, as high as the clouds, coming this way, crushing all living beings. Do whatever you think should be done.' If, great king, such a great peril should arise, such a terrible destruction of human life — the human state being so hard to obtain — what should be done?"

"If, lord, such a great peril should arise, such a terrible destruction of human life — the human state being so hard to obtain — what else should be done but Dhamma-conduct, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious deeds?"

"I inform you, great king, I announce to you, great king: aging and death are rolling in on you. When aging and death are rolling in on you, great king, what should be done?"

"As aging and death are rolling in on me, lord, what else should be done but Dhamma-conduct, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious deeds?

"There are, lord, elephant battles [fought by] head-anointed noble-warrior kings intoxicated with the intoxication of sovereignty, obsessed by greed for sensual pleasures, who have attained stable control in their country, and who rule having conquered a great sphere of territory on earth; but there is no use for those elephant battles, no scope for them, when aging and death are rolling in. There are cavalry battles... chariot battles... infantry battles... but there is no use for those infantry battles, no scope for them, when aging and death are rolling in. In this royal court there are counselors who, when the enemies arrive, are capable of dividing them by their wits; but there is no use for those battles of wits, no scope for them, when aging and death are rolling in. In this royal court there is abundant bullion and gold stored in vaults and depositories, and with such wealth we are capable of buying off enemies when they come; but there is no use for those battles of wealth, no scope for them, when aging and death are rolling in. As aging and death are rolling in on me, lord, what else should be done but Dhamma-conduct, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious deeds?"

"So it is, great king! So it is, great king! As aging and death are rolling in on you, what else should be done but Dhamma-conduct, right conduct, skillful deeds, meritorious deeds?"

That is what the Blessed One said. Having said that, the One Well-Gone, the Teacher, further said this:

Like massive boulders,mountains pressing against the sky,moving in from all sides,crushing the four directions, so aging and deathcome rolling over living beings:noble warriors, priests, merchants,workers, outcastes, & scavengers.They spare nothing.They trample everything.

Here elephant troops can hold no ground,nor can chariots or infantry,nor can a battle of witsor wealth win out.

So a wise person,seeing his own good,steadfast, secures confidencein the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha.

One who practices the Dhammain thought, word, & deed,receives praise here on earthand after death rejoices in heaven.

"For a disciple who has conviction in the Teacher's message & lives to penetrate it, what accords with the Dhamma is this:'The Blessed One is the Teacher, I am a disciple. He is the one who knows, not I." - MN. 70 Kitagiri Sutta

William Alex Young March 22, 2011 William Alex Young, 26, of Germantown, MD, died Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Prayer Service: 11 a.m. Friday, April 1, 2011 at the Kloster-Northrop & Bentz Funeral Home, 210 East Main St., Waterville, NY, followed at 11:30 a.m. by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Bernard's Church, Waterville. Friends may call at the funeral home on Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m.

The heart of the path is SO simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are. That is all I do in my own practice. Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. Of course, there are dozens of meditation techniques to develop samadhi and many kinds of vipassana. But it all comes back to this - just let it all be. Step over here where it is cool, out of the battle. - Ajahn Chah

If you have asked me of the origination of unease, then I shall explain it to you in accordance with my understanding: Whatever various forms of unease there are in the world, They originate founded in encumbering accumulation. (Pārāyanavagga)

Exalted in mind, just open and clearly aware, the recluse trained in the ways of the sages:One who is such, calmed and ever mindful, He has no sorrows! -- Udana IV, 7

Yes, I suspected it might be like that... most people have their FB set up that way.

Metta,Retro.

If you have asked me of the origination of unease, then I shall explain it to you in accordance with my understanding: Whatever various forms of unease there are in the world, They originate founded in encumbering accumulation. (Pārāyanavagga)

Exalted in mind, just open and clearly aware, the recluse trained in the ways of the sages:One who is such, calmed and ever mindful, He has no sorrows! -- Udana IV, 7